Just because our good 'ol state of IL has been on the crappy end of so much negative publicity lately, I thought I'd share a couple of positive statistics concerning our education system:

Illinois near the top for state graduation rates: In preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Education in November, Illinois ranked 10th in the nation for its graduation rate, which was 84 percent. Among the 10 most populous states, Illinois was second, behind only Texas at 86 percent.

Illinois earns top ACT score among states that test all students: The graduating Class of 2012 received the highest composite ACT score (20.9) among the nine states that tested 100 percent of 2012 graduates. Additionally, the state has shown continued improvement in the percentage of graduates who meet ACT's College Readiness Benchmarks over the last five years.

No idea what the actual source for these is, but my principal emailed them to us saying they come from our State Superintendent.

"When a hunter is in a tree stand with high moral values and with the proper hunting ethics and richer for the experience, that hunter is 20 feet closer to God." ~Fred Bear